OCR Text

Lethbridge Herald, The (Newspaper) - June 5, 1970, Lethbridge, Alberta
Frederick W. K. Haultain Came West Srr Frederick Haultain Law Office Dedication Ceremonies Set For 2 P. A further dimension has been added to the restoration of old Fort Macleod with the comple- tion of the Sir Frederick W. G. Haultain law office, which will be dedicated and opened to the public Saturday at 2 p.m. Included in the ceremony will be the dedication of the Chapel of The Fort; the unveiling of the tableau of Col. James Mac- leod and Chief Crowfoot; the unveiling of the diorama of the NWMP barracks; and a presen- tation to Reginald Jennings of Calgary on behalf of the town of Fort Macleod for his contri- bution to the restoration of the Haultain law office. Mr. Jennings, well known Al- berta builder and philanthro- pist will formally present his gift to The Fort, following which G. W. Milligan, QC of Calgary will address the gath- ering. Chief Crowfoot, grandson of the earlier chief who negotiated for peace in the west with Col. Macieod nearly 100 years ago, along with J. B. Cross, grand- son of Col. Macleod, will unveil the tableau of their distin- quished grandparents. Leighton E. Buckwell, MX.A, will unveil the diorama of the NWMP barracks and formally consign it bo the K.CMP for pos- terity. Assistant Commissioner V. M. Seppaia will accept on behalf of the RCMP. Dedication of the Chapel will be shared by various members of the Fort Macleod Ministerial Association. Master of ceremonies for the occasion will be K. E. Friesen, president of the Fort Macleod Historical Association. By MARGARET LUCKHURST Herald Staff Writer Frederick Hauttain is not a name as familiar to people in southern Alberta as say, Jerry Potts, Gal. Macleod or Alexand- er Gait, yet he made a signifi- cant contribution to the devel- lopment of the west, particular- ly in the educational field.- He was born in England, but emigrated to eastern Canada with his family in 1360. He re- ceived his education in the east where he graduated from the University of Toronto. "Go West young man" was the theme of ambitious young men in the early development of Canada, and Frederick Haul- tain followed the trend. Many cf his university associates had moved west 2nd later became prominent lawyers. J. D. Cam- eron, laiter to become Attorney- General of Manitoba and C. C. McCaul who was practising law ill Fort Maclcod, gave ymmg Hmifein encouragement fco [head west. Urged on by the call, Fred- erick Haiiltain joined McCaul in practise in Fort Macteod. At this time, Fort Macleod was an important transporta- tion centre, situated an the trail from Fcrt Benton, Montana, to Edmonton. It was not too far from Calgary and it had easy accessibility to the Crowsnest Pass and the expanding coal mining centre of Lethbridge. Fort Mncleod had been estab- lished also as the police head- quarters for a large -territory, including the Kootenay coun- try. The town wss further en- hanced by its geographical po- sition near the border which attracted smugglers, whiskey running and other nefairious types. It seemed to Haultain and McCaul to be a wise set-up for ambitious young lawyers. It wasn't long before young Haultain gained immense pop- ularity in the general area cf Port Macleod. He was a good lawyer, and bis debating ability which won him high regard m university, soon stood him in good stead at the bar. Mr. Haultarin quickly assimi- lated into tine community, join- ing the Anglican Church, sing- ing in the choir and becoming a member of the Fxirt Macleod branch of the Upper Canada Bible Society. Three yeairs after his arrival in Fort Macleod, be was nom- inated to represent that consti- tuency in the Legislative Coun- cil of the North West Territor- ies, a post he won and held for a number of years. At this time there was grow- ing dissatisfaction within the west which resented the pater- nalistic attitude of the Federal government in its affairs, ar.d a Council was set up to ruin its own legislative assemblies. Until the decline of territorial rule and the subsequent entry into confederation of this whole area, Frederick Haultaiia work- ed toward this end in various political capacities. Eventually he became Prem- ier of Saskatchewan, during which time he dedicated much of his efforts to education ar.d the development of the Public School and Separate School Act. L2.'.cr he was appointed chief justice of Saskatchewan where he was often called upon to act as administrator ar.d vice-Lieu- tenant Governor. In 191G, in recognition cf his contributions to the west which began in Fort Macleod; he was knighted by King George V. Although Frederick Haultain did rot stay too many in the Fort Moclcod area, his in- fluence on the development of the west was recognized and appreciated by the cc'r.terr.par- aries with whom he worked in the town. In the Maclecd Gazette, Oct. 22, 1897, it is said of him: "He was responsible for the legislation which placed the schools en a satisfactory basis, and for the cificient, noj> partisan administration cf the system." The site on which the com- pletely restored Haultain Law office now stands, is. along with Kanouse House, the only site on wliich an original build- Col. Macleod and Chief Crowfoot Tablec C. Edgar Sons Ltd. 128 24th Heating FORT MACLEOD Canadian Macieod Bank Ltd. Classes of FORT MACLEOD This Section Sponsored By The Following Public-Minded Fort Macieod Business.es mg stood, on or near th9 earlier Fcrt Mactecd. In consideration ol this, the site has dcslgr-stcd as a poir.'t of nclional hjrlaric inter- est by the Histiairietrl Silcs and Monuments Eccrd cf the Fed- eral g'Cverr.meni. Sod Turned In 1957 "The sod for restoration of Fort Maclcod police bar- racks was turned in May, Mr. K. E. Fricsen, pres- ident of the Fort Maclcod His- torical Association said in an interview recently. "Since that- time we've had a lot of head- aches, done a lot of work and finally, have achieved some- tiling' western Canada can be really proud of." When the histcncal associa- tion started thinking in terms of the complete restoration of the fort, it was difficult lx> de- cide where to place it, Mr. Friev sen said. Some members of the com- mittee favored the idea of a more central location, others felt it should be near the ceno- taph. In the meantime CpL Shaw was collecting artifacts and had assembled a museum in the coiirthc-use. It was decided however, to establish as close to the origin- al site as was practical and pos- sible, and having succeeded in arriving at a decision on this matter, the association then turned to the problem of fi- nance. "We really did some strong promotion in Mr, Frie- sen said, "With the result that we got a federal grant and a provincial grant that totalled Privade donations and contributions from businesses swelled our bnr.k account and we were able to go ahead as we'd Last year admissions ix> the fort totalled over which more than took care of the up- keep, Mr. Friesen said. Members of tire executive of Uic association are A. G. Swin- atton. 1st vice-president; Mackny, second vice-president; John C. Davis, third vice-presi- dent; Mrs. Muriel R a g a n, fourth vice-president. Mr. Law- rence King is Fort Curators are Mrs. Annie A. MacG owan and her assistant Mrs. Davis. Fort Tire Shopping Radiator Welding John Henry Restaurants Fort Macleod FORT YOU MORE IN 70 Fort Pharmacy China Shop A. Neddow Jeweller "Your Drug 130 Macleod FORT The New Dining "Southern Alberta's 24lh St. FORT MACLEOD Price's Rexall Company Limited FORT Store MACLEOD W. Sons reasury FORT MACLEOD Geo. H. and J. Viens Garage Ltd. General Trailer" Dealer FORT FORT Service" MACLEOD
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